Textures, Sunsets And Songs In The Wasteland

It’s been a week or so of leaden days, with a few shivering mornings as well.
The sunsets have been pretty good, though.

We went to the cafe the other day – we’re trying to make it a regular thing. It was so cold they had blankets folded on the outside tables for anyone brave enough to sit there.
That wasn’t us…
I like the mix of textures they have there (although we did briefly muse about the difficulties of dusting). There are interesting things wherever you look.

Lots of shells and seedpods.

Many friendly bunnies, strategically placed.

……………………………

😆

A whole display of shell necklaces (I have my eye on a couple, when I have some spare cash 😀 )

Painterly effects…

My world sometimes seems small in scope, and it’s tempting to drop into sadness. I love this house – a good thing, since I’m so often here! – but in some ways it should be more difficult. We’re on a main road and diagonal to a pub (potential noise), we look out onto shops and have no garden to speak of (but plenty of flowers!), our neighbours are very close (potential lack of privacy).
What could be barren can become beautiful…
and we can still choose to hear the music in the wastelands.

Published in: on July 14, 2023 at 9:27 pm  Leave a Comment  
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A Question Of Identity

My Biggest Boy has decided he is interested in photography. He’s taken different types of photos to see what he can do, and we’ve talked about the importance of “seeing” what is there. I think he’s got a good eye 🙂
One of the photos he’s taken is a portrait of me.

I suppose any portrait of me would have to include books…

Neither of my boys have been at school for a fair while now, so I am no longer a homeschool mum.
We’ve moved in the last five months, and I am still not able to work.
Life moves on, and life events change us and our sense of identity. I’m happy with myself, but feel a bit like a drifter through time. That’s OK. I still think I’m moving forward! It’s just that there’s probably less time ahead of me than behind.

I like my portrait.
It may not physically be the most flattering, but it’s a snapshot of who I am, and a glimpse into my Biggest Boy’s possible future. That’s a lot for one image to convey.

Speaking of portraits – here’s one of a visitor outside my Mum’s place.

Cousin Itt – Australian version 😆

So – back to identity…where do I belong now?
Here’s a musical suggestion… 😀

Published in: on July 7, 2023 at 11:54 pm  Comments (2)  
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Shedding Light On Years Gone

It’s hard to believe half the year’s over.
This week has galloped past me – is it time itself speeding up, or am I just getting old?
I’ve been rearranging bits and pieces around the place, and admiring the light at different times of the day. At the moment afternoon light seems to make my room look sort of pinkishy-orange.

It also brings out the beauty in a woven bag.

…as well as the stack of baskets I have yet to find a use for.

I still go out to the verandah after dark to look over our part of town, before closing the door to the night.
I took some photos in the darkness – my phone seems to have a night setting!

At times, ploughing through the mass of memorabilia, I wonder whether I should throw more stuff out.
Then I find myself looking again at tickets, receipts, letters and postcards from my journey through Europe when I was 25. I remembered more than I thought I could (and startled a largely uninterested son with reminiscences, when he had just come in to ask me a question…)

Disregard Frodo staring out at us.
Pretty much everything is in as good a condition as it was then. That plastic bag at the top contains my hair (which Biggest Boy thought was creepy…). I kept it because my hair had been quite long at the time, but Europe was so hot that I got it all chopped off very short, and didn’t want to just throw it all out. I’m not sure what to do with it now!

I also kept bits of currency, which is no longer used in the countries I visited in Europe.

The Netherlands 10c piece is the tiniest I have. You can see that the Eire (Ireland) coin fits in the hollow of a film canister lid – it’s roughly the size of an Australian 5c piece. The Netherlands 10c is tiny, and very light as well.

Bits of paper.
Random coins.
It all seems fairly useless.
But I can hold them in my hands, and once again feel the cold of a wet Irish night, or the heat of baking Roman stone. And I can remember younger me, heading out to see the world, still able to hike any amount of miles with a huge backpack on my back.
Life is strange, sometimes.
But still sweet.
❤

Published in: on July 2, 2023 at 12:11 am  Leave a Comment  

When The Garden Smiles Back

Winter seems to have made up its mind.
At least in the mornings.
I’ve unearthed the unicorn onesie and sock monkey hat, although sunny days are still too warm to wear those for long.

My Babe is still working out the shape of his music/recording business, which means that routine has been a bit patchy lately. We’ve been able to get a cuppa at a cafe a couple of times – checked out one we haven’t been to for a while.

Our view.

…and our food (and hot chocolate 🙂 )
They do some nice gluten free snacks there.
We originally went to check out their tea – we’re trying to source some nice leaf green tea.

We haven’t forgotten our favourite cafe!
The chocolate butter for my banana loaf was showing me some love…

…and the wall art was giving me advice!

I’m still tinkering around with my living space.
There’s a lot of “stuff”, but also a lot of space to put it in. Also – not much in the way of dust accumulation…
There are inspirational/joy-inducing areas.

Still unsure about the line between clutter and “enough” 🙂

❤ 🙂

My collection of badges, and some beautiful earrings, which I can’t actually wear (my ears aren’t pierced).

I treated myself to a cute chair.

I can use it as is, but the wooden base of the seat has, shall we say, led a hard life. I’ll try to replace it soon. I thought about using a lazy susan, so I can swivel the seat. We have one downstairs, but it’s too big.

So – why is my garden smiling at me?
It’s too cold for it to be doing much at the moment, although there are a lot of bougainvillea flowers about.
Yesterday I was hovering while a repair bloke did some work outside, and I looked through some random stones that someone, sometime, had thrown into the dirt beside the carport.
I found a quite happy looking combination of various stones and a stud thingy.

A further search produced a huge grin.

All things considered, this is a happy place.
😀

Published in: on June 24, 2023 at 10:51 pm  Leave a Comment  

Incompearable

Another pottering kind of day, with a couple of forays into the charity shops around here.
It was sunny and warm, the walking was easy, and I found some lovely things to take home. I also just missed out on some things I’d had my eye on and went back to pick up – once in each shop – the item was either just being paid for, or literally being taken off the shelf as I walked up. I tend to look at some things and go back later when I’m sure. If it’s gone, I assume I was never meant to have it. Having the thing picked up just as I’m about to reach for it seems a bit much, though (but what does it mean?? 😆 )
I didn’t get what I went there for, but I did get various things I didn’t go for.
We can’t have pets here, but I thought we could do with a guard dog.

I liked this, and brought it home to put up in my studio. It reminds me of what I’m here for 🙂

I have been listening to this the last few nights –

I think that we all have “something wild”, where the wonder comes from. Sometimes we just forget.

Speaking of wild…

Struggling in the middle of concrete and stone?
Maybe you can still grow!
❤

As for the “pear” in the title…
the Salvo’s over the road often has free bread, and sometimes fruit and veg.
Today, in the middle of the greens, was a small, bright, perfect pear.

Yum!
😀

Published in: on June 13, 2023 at 8:40 pm  Leave a Comment  
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The Sun Shares Its Warmth Again

I don’t know what winter thinks it’s doing.

We started with cold, shivery mornings. Some still are, but mostly it’s been that lovely crisp chill that’s energising but not too cold.
I’m not complaining 🙂
There’s been rain as well, and then everything seems grey and somehow colder. It’s good to catch the sunshine when it peeks out from behind the clouds…

I’ve been organising.
We finally got the boxes out from under the stairs, and I’ve rediscovered things I forgot that I had. I’ve unpacked the last cardboard box from upstairs, so the rooms feel a bit more finished, even if there’s still a lot more to do! I spent this afternoon finding homes for my CDs, while playing some I haven’t heard in a while. That, obviously, led to sorting my (upstairs) books. I’ve spent a lovely afternoon pottering about between various shelves, trying to make sense out of it all 😆

…and through it all, the sun has been shining.
It’s been a good temperature to go for a walk down the street, or just lean on the railings and watch the world go by.
Sometimes I get caught up in the day and only notice it’s getting late when I see the sun setting outside my coloured glass windows.

Then I can settle again into my beautiful home, and reflect on the sun, and the warmth in my life.
❤

Published in: on June 9, 2023 at 8:46 pm  Comments (2)  

Hang Ups

My “art room” is looking a lot less cluttered this week.
I’ve finally unpacked some containers, moved some things around, hung some bits and pieces up…

Some of the packages haven’t seen the light of day for quite a while. There are canvases that I’ve had for decades, and some that are a fair bit newer. There are various reasons why I haven’t hung them up before, but one is that they aren’t really too great, in my eyes. But – they exist. And they’re not terrible 😆 I hope to get some more work done – get some of the images out of my head and onto a canvas, or piece of paper.
I have a certain fondness for my older work, even if I can still see the flaws!

A bit of a mixture – the two on the right aren’t as old as the purple peopley one on the left. That’s from 1986 – my first year of art college. It’s been hung on many different walls and travelled round the world with me 🙂

This one is also from the last decade or so.
It’s bigger than the others, and the hooks I have available are tiny, so it’ll stay here. I have framed prints from college, but they are too heavy for the hooks – lots of glass and framing.

I also found a lovely photo of our family from years ago. It’s sharing space with some paintings I bought while backpacking around Europe in 1994, and a beautiful textile print made by a friend.

❤

I haven’t found a place to safely put this mirror – the hooks wouldn’t hold it, and I wouldn’t want the glass to smash on our uncarpeted floors. At the moment it’s just reflecting a gauzy, curtain-y dreamscape.

There’s still work to do.
I’ll just have to get over my hang ups, so I have more things to…hang up! 😀

Published in: on May 27, 2023 at 11:59 pm  Leave a Comment  

Stronger Than Fear

Seems it’s been a while since I was here last.
I’ve probably got things to say – just haven’t formulated them in my head yet!
It’s late, here.
Should I be in bed?
Yes.
Should I be reminding myself of the truth below?
Also yes! 🙂

Now, time to sleep, and breathe for another day.
I hope the air is pure and invigorating in your life!
❤

Published in: on May 25, 2023 at 1:05 am  Comments (2)  
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Thinking Of Thankfulness

Mothers’ Day again!
My sweet boys are a lot older than the kids in this video, but I’m still thankful every day to be their Mum.
They’re still the funny, weird, wonderful beans they always were.
❤

Published in: on May 14, 2023 at 12:05 am  Leave a Comment  
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Like Nobody Else

Just a fun little interlude for you 🙂
This was done sometime during quarantine, presumably to help cheer people up (also as a fundraiser to help musicians who were unable to make a living without live performances).
I haven’t listened to a lot of Voiceplay, but this one turns up on my YouTube suggestions every so often. It’s a collaboration with a lot of different people (and includes a cameo by my favourite bass…)

Singing can be beneficial for your health – even if you don’t think you’re any good at it! Your voice, and the way you relate to music, is unique to you.
Apart from that, it’s just fun 😀
So pick a song. Any song.
And just sing!

Published in: on May 13, 2023 at 10:18 pm  Leave a Comment  
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